Warriors’ DeMarcus Cousins to ramp up rehab from...

1of 13Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins (0) during the second half of an NBA preseason game at SAP Center on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, in San Jose, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

2of 1312 things you may not have known about BoogieHe has a younger brother who also plays basketball
Jaleel Cousins is three years younger than his older brother DeMarcus, and played college basketball at the University of South Florida. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Warriors this offseason, and will have a chance to play for Golden State's G League affiliate this coming season. Cousins went undrafted after graduating from South Florida in 2016, and spent some time in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Basketball League in 2017.Photo: Gary Coronado, Houston Chronicle

3of 13When he was in school, he was really good at writing poetry

One of Cousins's former childhood teachers, Erica Massey, told the New Orleans Advocate that Cousins "excelled" at writing poetry. "He brought energy to the class and made everybody else step their game up," she said."They knew they couldn't beat him on the court, so when he wrote a poem, they would try to outdo him."Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

4of 13He has racked up over $1,000,000 in fines over his career
According to Spotrac, Cousins has paid a total of $1,106,890 in fines during his eight years in the NBA. Most of the fines came from technical fouls and ejections, but a few were a result of "verbal abuse" of referees and "inappropriate conduct" toward fans.Photo: Gerald Herbert / AP

5of 13In January, he became the first NBA player to record 40 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a game since 1972
During a January game against the Chicago Bulls, Cousins exploded for 44 points, 24 rebounds and 10 assists. Boogie was the first player to go for 40, 20 and 10 since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 1972.Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

6of 13He earned the "Boogie" nickname in college

Cousins was first called "Boogie" by Kentucky basketball assistant coach Rod Strickland. "Coach Rod Strickland at Kentucky gave me the name," Cousins said in 2010. "I would be playing ball and I would do moves that guards would do and coach Strickland said, 'Man, you got a lot of Boogie.' Every time I walked into the gym, he would say, 'What’s up Boogie!' and it just stuck."Photo: Mark Cornelison, MCT

7of 13He has his own app
If you always wanted to use custom DeMarcus Cousins emojis on your phone, you're in luck. The center has an iPhone app called "Boogie Small Stars," an emoji keyboard full of miniature DeMarcus Cousins. It's like Bitmoji, but with Boogie.Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

8of 13He once stopped Isaiah Thomas from shaking Chris Paul's hand after a game
After a game vs. the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013, Cousins grabbed teammate Isaiah Thomas and pulled him away from Chris Paul, who was trying to shake hands with Thomas. After the incident, Paul said Cousins "needs some guidance."Photo: Ezra Shaw, Getty Images

9of 13His favorite movies are "The Wood," "Menace II Society" and "Love & Basketball"
Cousins listed the three '90s flicks as his favorite movies on his official biography on the NBA's website.Photo: New Line Cinema

10of 13He's an Oakland Raiders fan
While he was with the Kings, Cousins would occasionally drive to the Bay Area to attend Raiders games.Photo: Instagram

12of 13He has a tattoo of his mother's face on his right arm
Boogie has a picture of his mother tattooed on his right forearm. "She's inspired me throughout my life, just seeing how hard she worked for her kids, just for us to have a happy life," he told GQ of his tattoo.Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

13of 13Kobe Bryant gave him advice on how to rehab an Achilles rupture

Bryant, who tore his Achilles tendon during a 2013 game against the Warriors, reached out to Cousins to offer advice on the rehabilitation process. "I wasn’t really looking for a specific answer to get through it," Cousins said. "I really just wanted to see what each guy’s mindset was and compare it to my own. Some of the positives I took from it and some I just put to the way side. It’s an injury that can be overcome. I will make sure I prove that."Photo: Michael Nagle, Bloomberg

Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins will join controlled aspects of team practices soon, Golden State announced in a news release Monday.

"He’s been doing a lot of individual work most of the young season," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said before Monday night’s game against Phoenix at Oracle Arena. "He has not participated in most of our practices. He’s done work in the weight room, the training room, then on the floor before practice.

"So, I think we’re going to start seeing him involved in more of our team activities, 5-on-0 and ball-handling skill work. If we do scrimmage, which is very rare, but if we do, it’s usually with the young guys who don’t play a lot. He’ll probably join those scrimmages."

Cousins, who tore his left Achilles tendon on Jan. 27 while with the Pelicans, won’t be rushed back onto the court. With four other All-Stars available, Golden State is intent on easing him back into game action slowly.

Still, it won’t hold him out just for the sake of preserving him for the playoffs. Cousins will play when he’s ready. And based on his early progress, that could be sooner than some initially expected.

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Outside of Cousins, the Warriors haven’t had to deal with any major injuries this season. The only other injuryof note is Shaun Livingston’s left knee contusion, which is set to sideline him for the second straight game Monday.

Evans benched: Nearly a week into the season, rookie guard Jacob Evans has yet to make his NBA debut. And the reason is simple: As Evans navigates a sizable learning curve, he is buried on the depth chart at shooting guard and small forward.

"This isn’t the YMCA," Kerr said. "We don’t have to play 15 guys all eight minutes apiece. It’s the NBA. He’s a rookie. He’s just learning what’s going on. He’ll get his chance at some point. He’s not doing anything wrong. He’s just got people ahead of him right now."

Green at 5: During the preseason, Kerr told reporters that he hoped to limit Draymond Green’s minutes as a small-ball center as much as possible in the regular season to keep him fresh for the playoffs. However, Green has already logged plenty of time at that spot, which led some to wonder: Why the sudden change?

"I suppose we’re taking it out of him if we’re playing him at center against Steven Adams, guys like that," Kerr said. "But the way the NBA is played these days, there are very few of those behemoth centers. Most centers are stretch guys who happen to be tall. … I don’t think his minutes at center have been too taxing for him."

Connor Letourneau moved to the Golden State Warriors beat in September 2016 after a year covering Cal. Previously, he spent two years covering the Oregon State Beavers for The Oregonian. Letourneau is a University of Maryland alum who has interned for The Baltimore Sun and blogged for The New York Times. A Portland, Ore., native, he is interested in telling the stories that extend beyond the field or court.